11.29.09
Posted in Deception, Microsoft, Mono, Novell at 3:10 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Response to people who mischaracterise Boycott Novell and falsely attribute false words to it
SOME regular hecklers of Boycott Novell have intentionally distorted the message of this Web site. They wanted people not to pay attention to our concerns about Mono, so they lied about our argument. Instead of focusing on the message that “GIMP [is] to be removed from Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx” (yes, nearly everyone describes it as a removal), one of the hecklers lied by saying that Novell and Microsoft are to blame according to Boycott Novell. That is a shameful lie, designed to discredit this Web site. It is one among many such smears which attempt to disparage the source or the messenger because the real message is just so hard to refute. What we argued about the GIMP being demoted can be found in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].
It is worth repeating the fact that we are not an FSF campaign (there is no affiliation with any establishment/s for that matter) and some people who pretend to speak for this Web site do not speak for this Web site. Some are only inciting and provoking people, thus creating anger against the site. It’s damaging. █
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Posted in Marketing, Microsoft at 2:28 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: A look back at what Microsoft did to Twitter and what it continues doing to it with a new deal
EARLIER this year we wrote about Microsoft’s partnership with Federated Media, which became the first time Twitter sold out to companies. Microsoft not only pioneered the corruption of Twitter’s integrity (Microsoft has assigned other PR agencies like Waggener Edstrom to help subvert Twitter) but it is also bribing people to tweet positively about Microsoft products. It is a violation of FTC rules [1, 2, 3, 4]. We wrote about the subject in:
Microsoft is now further extending its intervention in Twitter, using Federated Media again.
Six months after Twitter, Microsoft and Federated Media teamed up to launch ExecTweets, a service that streams business tweets from a handpicked collection of executives, the group is debuting a new project, ExecTweets IT.
[...]
ExecTweets was Twitter’s first-ever association with a marketer…
[...]
There are currently no further iterations of Exectweets in the works, according to DiPietro, but FM and Microsoft have teamed with Twitter on other projects, such as BingTweets, a mashup of Bing and Twitter search results, and Harmony Tweets, which is aimed at Toyota Prius owners.
For those who doubt Microsoft’s unethical involvement in Twitter, the links above are probably required reading. █
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Posted in America, Europe, Free/Libre Software, Microsoft, Open XML at 1:45 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
More countries should follow Brazil’s example, but Microsoft wants a ‘regime change’ over there
Original
Summary: The political aspect of Microsoft continues helping the company in enslaving young people, whose independence is given away so early in their lives by their politicians
IN OUR previous writings about the Gates Foundation we highlighted its role in privatising education, giving schools to corporations that look to increase shareholder value (with control over children comes leverage).
It was very disappointing to find the US president giving Microsoft more control of education. It’s in the news now. It goes under yet another sensational euphemism, “Educate to Innovate”.
Ah, yes. Innovate. Microsoft loves that word.
Here is information about what’s involved:
Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has launched an initiative called “Educate to Innovate”, aimed at getting more people interested in topics related to the so-called STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and math. And it seems that big companies with a presence in the videogaming world are interested in joining him and proving the educational capabilities of their products.
So once again, instead of politicians doing what’s right for the children they seem to be thinking about what’s right for funding of their next election (maybe not so directly/transparently). They deserve the benefit of the doubt and should be judged based on their actions. Either way, children are taught products rather than methods. They are taught the culture of consumerism and made an integral part of it. At a young age, they are hardly given a chance to choose, as they must comply with teachers or be reprimanded (sometimes punished with bad marks, where only conformity is rewarded for). This hinders exploration rather than inspire or ignite creativity, so what kind of education is this when children are trained for obedience?
“Just as there should be separation between church and state, there must be separation between public education and commerce.”To find out more about what Microsoft does to education, see this comprehensive post from last week. The Gates Foundation plays a role in this. Just as there should be separation between church and state, there must be separation between public education and commerce. Schools should not become indoctrination/recruitment facilities of private companies, whose structure is naturally tyrannical, not democratic (the chain of command implies so).
A few weeks ago we showed that Microsoft still tries to derail Brazil's schools migration to GNU/Linux. In the news we are finding more of the same signs this week.
Muntinlupa HS named a Microsoft innovative school
[...]
Microsoft honored Muntinlupa Science High School in the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum (IEF) in Salvador, Brazil last November. The awardees bested 104 nominees from 41 countries.
Now watch what Microsoft is doing Serbia:
Science and Technology: Serbia, Microsoft sign agreement
The Serbian government signed a memorandum of understanding on facilitating the access and use of IT in Serbian schools with Microsoft on Tuesday (November 17th). The document was signed in the framework of co-operation between the Education Ministry and Microsoft. The company’s Vice-President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Niels Soelberg, said the programme will continue until 2013.
Yes, it is yet another MoU, which may in fact be illegal. Microsoft cannot compete based on merit, so it privately signs deals that eliminate competition. Recent examples include China, Indonesia, and Ukraine. We also wrote about Serbia (or at least mentioned it) in the context of the OOXML blunder. News articles from 2007-2009 are appended at the bottom [1-3]. It is about GNU/Linux in Serbia.
Last but not least, several days ago we found Microsoft dumping in Taiwan. That very recent MoU in Taiwan was apparently not enough in battling Free software. Taiwan accused Microsoft of antitrust violations last year, but here it is victimised again:
Microsoft has launched its WebsiteSpark program in the Taiwan market targeting customers restricted to providers of website design/development services with a staff of fewer than 10 or independent professionals, according to Microsoft Taiwan.
We wrote about the real meaning of WebsiteSpark back in September when it was first introduced, later showing that it is just more of the same dumping programme against Free software (*Spark). Microsoft has just found another accomplice in the UK. Will the European Commission take notice? █
____
[1] Serbia ponders cooperation with Red Hat
Serbian government has announced that it will sign a letter of intent with one of the top open source software companies.
Serbian minister of science Aleksandar Popović and Red Hat Corporation vice-president Werner Knoblich will sign a letter of intent on January 15, the government said in a statement.
Red Hat, an international leader in development and distribution of open source software solutions, is a possible future partner which may improve availability and use of the most advanced information and communication technology based on development and implementation of software with open code, the statement said.
[2] RS: Ministry backs localised GNU/Linux distribution and CMS
The Serbian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society last month presented Cp6Linux, a GNU/Linux distribution translated into Serbian, based on the GNU/Linux distributions Debian and Ubuntu.
The localisation of the GNU/Linux distribution was carried out by the School of Electrical Engineering of the University of Belgrade. Its name is derived from the Cyrillic writing of ‘Serbian Linux’, “срб-линукс”.
[3] Open Source Software in Serbian
Currently, the two Linux versions – Ubuntu and Fedora are being localized whereas the first versions of these programs in Serbian will be available for use starting from March, 2008.
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Posted in Africa, Bill Gates, Deception, Intellectual Monopoly, Microsoft, Patents at 12:26 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: The Gates-Monsanto duo is trying to force Monsanto seeds upon the Kenyan population, hoping that poor farmers will be gullible enough to become slaves of more Intellectual Monopolies from overseas
IN the previous post we showed that Microsoft mastered the habit of giving stuff for free (pretending it to be “charity” or a “bargain”) and later pointing fingers, bullying, suing, and putting in jail the very same people who once helped, using merciless lawsuits that sometimes lead to bankruptcy.
As we showed a few days ago, Monsanto quietly filed thousands of lawsuits against farmers, many of whom could not afford legal defence even in the face of false allegations that were common. As a brief explanation of the issue, Monsanto is pushing and spreading dangerous species and extinguishing natural ones in the process. In turn, Monsanto claims ownership of all those new species that it spreads, which means that any new generation of animals or seeds will be considered the intellectual monopoly of Monsanto, which will claim royalty on life (of animals and food like plants). It ought to be mentioned that the soil and the new legal process introduced by Monsanto push aside any real possibility of avoiding Monsanto or competing against it. It is a trap and they know it. That’s the business model.
Who would support such unethical monsters? As we showed before, Bill Gates is one of their biggest backers and he is constantly promoting them in public while denouncing those who stand in Monsanto’s way (vainly labeling them “environmentalists”, in a fashion that’s intended as mockery). We wrote about this subject in:
One nation that Microsoft has been abusing in the past couple of years is Kenya. We even gave actual examples from the news, which are summarised in:
Using “green revolution” as a euphemism again, Gates and Rockefeller are now imposing Monsanto seeds upon the Kenyan population. Needless to say, the press which is owned by corporations is not telling the true story. When it does (see highlight in red), then it quickly uses some spin and misinformation to dismiss the issue. From the news:
Kenya: Gates Foundation and Monsanto to Develop Genetically Modified Seeds for Small Farmers
Many of the emotionally charged headlines that drive Africa’s food security debate are intricately connected to the critical and complex Kenyan seed industry: Kenya is the second largest seed consumer in sub-Saharan Africa, and a key driver of agricultural research on the continent. For decades, donors and private interests have been funneling millions of dollars into the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), in an effort to develop new plant varieties that can repel pests, withstand disease and produce higher yields.
KARI is now one of the main partners in a new programme funded by the Gates Foundation that will attempt to develop genetically modified (GM) maize that can withstand drought. The plan is to distribute the seeds to small farmers in Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. The technology is coming from Monsanto, the American corporate seed giant that does a lot of work for the Gates Foundation in Africa. Normally Monsanto’s patented seeds come at a high price, which has inspired an endless stream of vitriol from activists who accuse the company of exploiting poor farmers for obscene profits. This time, farmers will receive the seeds royalty free – indefinitely – as part of Gates’ push for a “green revolution” in Africa.
There is more news coverage of this (same as above), which is disappointingly one sided. We have already shown what “royalty free” means in this case (how about “organic”, “no patents at all”, or “no strings attached”?). Monsanto is just trying to seed the market (pun intended) and Gates helps them. He’s an expert in this area. █
“They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
–Bill Gates
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Posted in Asia, Bill Gates, Deception, Microsoft, Windows at 11:37 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Last week’s Microsoft raids in the UAE (and some more new raids) are increasingly seen as a business model
LAST week we wrote about what Microsoft was doing in the UAE apart from signing exclusionary deals [1, 2] and removing choice [1, 2].
As part of its recent tours in Asia (recall the marketing blitz in Jordan last month, as well as this new meeting), Microsoft is now engaged in attacking the very same people who have spread Windows over the years. Suddenly Microsoft pretends that they are the “bad people” (using them, then denouncing them, and finally putting them in prison).
Not just the UAE is targeted, either. A few days ago we found out that Microsoft was also raiding India.
LUCKNOW, INDIA: For software developers and resellers, the fight against piracy seems to be an unending one. The recent launch of Microsoft Windows 7 was shrouded with the news of its availability as pirated copies.
In order to check the open and blatant piracy of Microsoft products, the vendor recently launched a scheme called Seven 7s to encourage resellers to sell the original products. But even as the scheme was announced, Microsoft also filed a complaint about the rampant software piracy in a notorious market in Lucknow.
That’s comical. Since when does Microsoft care about counterfeiting in this country? As Bill Gates put it a couple of years ago, “It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.” So typical.
Let us remember that Microsoft was found guilty of tax evasion in India just a over a year ago. Should Microsoft also be labeled “a pirate” in India and therefore its offices aggressively raided? Last month when we wrote about Bill Gates and Microsoft dodging tax we also summarised previous posts about the subject, namely:
- Microsoft is Still Massively Evading Tax, Insider Trading Revisited
- Microsoft in Trouble with the Law Again
- Microsoft Debt and Tax Evasion
- Microsoft Tax Avoidance, by the Numbers
- Number One Lobbyist Gets Tax Breaks, Government Deals, Innocent Children
- Is Novell’s Pal Cooking the Books as Well? (Microsoft)
- Comes, Iowa, Suppression of Truth, Collusion and Tax Evasion
- Summary of Microsoft Tax Evasion Stories
- How Microsoft Harms American Workers, Taxpayers, and the Environment
- Microsoft, a Notorious Tax Evader, Takes Money from Taxpayers to Help Its Own Business (Updated)
The Microsoft ‘press’ is now having a chat with a former Microsoft employee who accuses Microsoft of improperly and even illegally handling tax matters.
Appearing on KUOW’s “The Conversation” on Monday was Jeff Reifman, a former Microsoft employee who has been writing about Microsoft’s software-licensing practices and whether they are illegal.
He asserts that Microsoft sidesteps Washington tax law by licensing its software out of an office in Reno, Nev. Nevada has no software-licensing tax; Washington does.
There is some sweet irony in the fact that a company which commits so many crimes accuses others of being “pirates” or “thieves” and “criminals”. Have they no shame or humility to see the hypocrisy? █
“As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.”
–Bill Gates
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Posted in Apple, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft at 11:05 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Developers and assemblers driven away to a more autonomous environment where they are actually in control
Apple’s recent problems include the company’s relationship with developers, who are increasingly pissed off [1, 2]. Some are talking about a boycott and others have apparently united against Apple App store. The Inquirer writes:
A WEBSITE has sprung up offering those Iphone developers who have been refused a place on the Apple App store an outlet for their frustrations.
According to Adam White, who runs a British app developing company and set up the site, apprejections was set up as a place for disgruntled developers to gather together and whinge about Apple’s apparent agenda in keeping them out.
In related news, Dana Blankenhorn writes about “Death of the black box EULA” and he offers lip service to Richard Stallman.
But the black box EULA was always hopelessly one-sided. It was unfair to customers. And lawyers could provide no help — they had written the black box EULA and were sworn to uphold it.
So folks like Richard Stallman struck a blow against wealth and said software should be free. Not only free but visible so you could see it, smell it, kiss it, touch it. Fix it, improve it. And they wrote their own license, which they dubbed copyleft.
The war against the black box EULA was on.
So here we are several years down the line and the GNU/Linux system has already conquered some important areas of computing. It looks rather encouraging. █
“In our association we operate as a consortium, like the open source consortium. They want to promote open source and Linux. But if you begin from the PC you are afraid of Microsoft. They try to go to the smart phone or PDA to start again.”
–Li Chang, vice president of the Taipei Computer Association
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Posted in Microsoft, Security, Windows at 10:44 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Microsoft leaves Internet Explorer users high and dry for weeks, having not addressed a zero-day flaw that compromises the entire operating system
LAST week we wrote about the Internet Explorer zero-day flaw — a flaw which Microsoft has not resolved yet. IDG writes:
Hackers working on the open-source Metasploit project have spiffed up a zero-day attack on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, making it more reliable — and more likely to be used by criminals.
Security experts have been worried about the flaw since it was first disclosed on the Bugtraq mailing list Friday. But the original demonstration code was unreliable and has not been used in real-world attacks.
But then came this IDG report, an advisory (not the same as patch), and SJVN wrote:
Earlier this week Microsoft announced yet another IE (Internet Explorer) bug. This one, Microsoft Security Advisory 977981, is one of the really bad ones that can allow attackers to take your Windows PC over. Yuck!
[...]
I think your best move to keep the world from sneaking in some malware over your browser is to get the latest versions of Firefox 3.5.5 or Google’s Chrome 3.0.x Web browser. Neither is perfect, but they are better than IE. I wish I could recommend Opera, but I continue to have real concerns about Opera’s built-in Web server security.
Indeed, this is an opportunity to recommend that people secure themselves by moving to another Web browser. Microsoft Thurrott does Microsoft’s “damage control”, having previously incited people against rival Web browsers like Opera. Other coverage includes:
• Exploit code targets Internet Explorer zero-day display flaw
• New Security Flaw Hits Internet Explorer 6 & 7
• New attack targets weakness in Internet Explorer
• Microsoft Issues Internet Explorer Security Advisory
This is pretty serious.
Microsoft on Monday said it is investigating a possible vulnerability in Internet Explorer after exploit code that allegedly can be used to take control of computers, if they visit a Web site hosting the code, was posted to a security mailing list.
No report about a patch has been published yet. So, a good solution would be abandonment of Internet Explorer. █
Smelling an opportunity
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11.28.09
Posted in IRC Logs at 8:27 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Read the log
Enter the IRC channel now
To use your own IRC client, join channel #boycottnovell in FreeNode.
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